Vivianne Miedema to miss the Netherlands’ clash against Portugal with Covid-19

Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema will miss her team’s Euro 2022 Group C clash with Portugal after testing positive for Covid-19.

The all-time Dutch top goalscorer will isolate for “the next few days”, but her absence is the latest in a number of injuries and illnesses that have hit the squad since their 1-1 draw against Sweden.

Jackie Groenen is also isolating and defender Aniek Nouwen is expected to miss the game due to an ankle problem, while captain Sari Van Veenendaal is out for the rest of the tournament with a shoulder injury.

With the standings all square in Group C after two draws in the opening fixtures, the Netherlands come up against a resilient Portugal team who bounced back to draw 2-2 against Switzerland, and Portugal boss Francisco Neto knows his side need to stay focused.

He told uefa.com: “We need to start super-focused on our jobs; at this level, mistakes will be punished.

“Against experienced teams, used to these games, with players with huge talent, we need to be fully focused and try to negate the attacking talents of the Netherlands.

“There’s only one way to do that – have the ball and keep the ball. That’s our mission.”

Switzerland had their preparations for their game against Sweden hampered as some players and staff were struck with gastrointestinal symptoms earlier this week, however manager Nils Nielsen is confident his team have a chance.

He told a press conference: “Of course we have a chance, that chance is not so big but as long as we do have a chance we’re going to chase it with everything we have, like all the other teams.

“Even if our chances are small, then we can still win the game.”